Wrench.



v. J. GOUGHENOUR.

WRENCH.

- APPLICATION FILED JULY 1,1909.

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

I I suoanloz Virgil J Coughelwwn fltkvuwfo z p w A W 1 m H W VIRGIL .T. OOUGHENOUR, OF CARLTON, OHIO.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

Application filed July 1, 1908. Serial No. 441,332.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LVIRGIL J. OoUoHENoUn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Carlton, in the county of Gallia and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in wrenches of that class known as quick acting wrenches, and it has for its objects among others to provide a simple yet cheap improved wrench of this type by which adjustment may be made eas ily and uickly, and in which the parts are compact y arranged, the wrench being extremely narrow and in which the locking device is automatic in its action and very strong; the parts are so arranged that, when an object is grasped between the jaws, the strain, instead of being taken by the shaft of the gear and the housing, is taken by the teeth of the gear and the curved portion of the stock against which the pinion firmly rests. The fixed aw is also materially strengthened thereby. I employ a hinged housing by means of which the teeth of the rack on the movable jaw and of the pinion are firmly held in close engagement with each other. I provide an unlocking device which is disposed in the handiest position possible, still is well protected and not in the way. The device as a whole is simple and pr actically inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the numerals of reference markedthereon, form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved wrench with a portion of the handle broken away. Fig. 2 is a top plan thereof. Fig. 3 is a substantially central longitudinal section through the same. Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawing 1 is the movable jaw having the teeth 2 out in its inner side or acting face, while 3 is the shank of such jaw provided upon its inner face with teeth 4 for engagement with the teeth of a gear soon to be described. This shank has grooves 5 disposed longitudinally upon its opposite faces,

as will be readily understood from Figs. 1 and 4, in which slide projections 6 of the housing 7. The shank of the movable jaw is received in the upper part of this housing and is held thereby in close engagement with the teeth of the gear 8 which is mounted upon a shaft 9 held in the depending side walls 10 of the housing and in the side walls 11 of the lower part 12 of the housing, as seen clearly in Fig. 4. The lower part of the upper section of the housing is circular to fit inside the raised part 13 of the lower section of the housing. The upper half of the housing is free to rock on the shaft or pin 9. A projection 14 extends out from each side of the upper part of the housing through which passes a pin or rivet 15 under which extends the end of a flat substantially straight spring 16, the other end of which is secured, as at 17, by screw or otherwise to the handle 18 of the wrench, integral with which is the fixed jaw 19 having the serrated acting face 20, as seen clearly in Fig. 3. This spring serves to hold the movable jaw in contact with the object grasped.

The lower part 12 of the housing extends beneath and around the fixed jaw, as seen at 21. A spring 22, fastened at one end, as at 23, to the handle 18 of the wrench, has its other end passing through this lower part of the housing and pressing against it, as seen in Fig. 3, being interposed between the bottom wall of said lower part of the housing and the adjacent face of the fixed aw, thus serving to hold the pinion 8 in engagement with the teeth 24 formed upon the lower face of the cavity or chamber 25 in the fixed jaw, pvs will be clearly seen upon reference to lhe housing and the pinion are pivotally held to the handle 18 of the fixed jaw by means of a pin 26 passing through suitable openings in said parts. A handle or lever 27 extends outward from the lower part of the housing substantially parallel with the handle 18 and is bent inward, as shown at 28, so as to extend and work within a recess 29 in the left hand side of the handle 18, as will be understood clearly upon reference to Figs. 1 and 2. This handle or lever may have a thumb piece 30 projecting laterally therefrom so that it may be readily pushed down by the thumb of the hand grasping the handie 18 when it is desired to unlock the wrench.

It will be understood that the upper and lower parts of the housing are hinged together by the pin 9 which passes through the overlapping parts thereof and through the pinion 8, so that the movable jaw and its shank can rock forward until the edges 31 and 32 of the two parts of the housing come together. They can rock backward until the projections 14 strike the bottom edge of the raised portion of the lower part of the housing. Thus the rocking motion of the movable jaw is more than enough to compensate for the distance between two teeth of the rack 4 on the shank of the movable jaw and the gear or pinion 8. The lower half of the housing being pivoted at 26 has rocking motion su'llicient to let the teeth of the gear and the teeth of the rounded cavity in the fixed jaw to engage and disengage.

When the parts are in their locked position, as shown in Fig. 3, the front edge of the lower part of the housing fits up against the projecting sides of the fixed aw in the curved line 33 as seen in Fig. 1, the sides of the jaw and housin being thus flush with each other. Small shoulders are formed on each side of the handle; on the right hand side the shoulder extends entirely across the handle in a semi-circular shape so as to fit against the housing, while on the left side the central part of this shoulder is cut away to provide the recess for the lever 27.

If desired, the shank of the movable jaw may be graduated, as seen at 34 in Fig. 1, so that the wrench may be quickly adjusted to any sized pipe or object without fitting the wrench to' the object grasped after the wrench has been placed thereon. The springs 16 and 22 may be placed in shallow recesses in the stock so as to be protected.

With the parts constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described, the operation, briefly stated, is as follows: The thumb of the hand holding the handle 18 presses down upon the lever 27 so as to overcome the tension of the spring 22, raising the housing and the pinion so as to unlock the wrench. The other hand then moves the movable jaw to the desired position. The spring 22 is much stiffer than the spring 16 so as to enable the movable jaw to rock back without disengaging the teeth of the gear or pinion 8 and the teeth 24 of the fixed jaw. The simple act of gripping the pipe or other object brings the teeth 24 into engagement with those of the gear or pinion and so holds the wrench in its adjusted position.

Modifications in detail may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What I claim as new is 1. In awreneh, a movable jaw with toothed shank, a stationary aw with handle and a cavity provided with teeth, a pivoted housing and a gear carried thereby and disposed in said cavity.

2. In awrench, a movable j aw with toothed shank, a stationary jaw with handle and a cavity provided with teeth, a pivoted housing, a gear carried thereby and disposed in said cavity, and means for keeping said gear H in engagement with the teeth of the cavity.

3. In a wrench, a movable jaw with toothed shank, a stationary jaw having handle and toothed cavity, a gear interposed between said toothed shank and teeth of the cavity and a housing carrying said gear and pivotally mounted on the handle of the stationary jaw. I

4. In a wrench, a movable jaw with toothed shank, a stationary jaw having handle and toothed cavity, a gear interposed between said toothed shank and teeth of the cavity, a housing carrying said gear and pivotally mounted on the handle of the stationary jaw, and an unlocking device.

5. In awrench, amovable j aw with toothed shank, a fixed jaw with handle and cavity having teeth, a housing pivoted on said handle and embracing both of said members, and a gear carried by said housing and disposed within said cavity, said movable jaw being rockable on the shaft of said gear.

6. In a wrench, a movable jaw having a toothed shank, a stationary jaw with handle and toothed cavity, a two-part housing one part of which is pivoted on the said handle and the other part of which embraces the shank of the movable j aw, and a gear mounted on the connection between the two parts of the housing.

7. In a wrench, a movable jaw having a toothed shank, a stationary jaw with handle and toothed cavity, a two-part housing one part of which is pivoted on the said handle and the other part of which embraces the shank of the movable jaw, a gear mounted on the connection between the two parts of the housing, and a lever for moving the lower part of the housing to unlock the parts.

8. In a wrench, a movable jaw with toothed shank, a stationary jaw with handle and toothed cavity, a rocking housing mounted on the said handle, a gear carried thereby, and springs acting on the housing above and below its connection with the handle.

9. In awrench, amovable jaw with toothed shank having guide grooves, a stationary jaw with handle and toothed cavity, a tw0- part housing pivotally mounted on said handle and the two parts pivotally united, the upper part having means working in said guide grooves, and a gear mounted on the connection between the two parts of the housing.

1 0. In a wrench,a movable aw with toothed shank having guide grooves, a stationary jaw with handle and toothed cavity, a twopart housing pivotally mounted on said handle and the two parts pivotally united, the upper part having means working in said guide grooves, a gear mounted on the connection between the two parts of the housing, and an unlocking lever rigid withthe lower part of the housing.

11. In a wrench, a stationary jaw with handle and toothed cavity, a housing pivotally supported from said stationary jaw, a gear carried by said housing, a spring for depressing the housing, a movable jaw having toothed shank embraced by said housing and engaging said gear and adapted to be rocked to unlock the parts, a spring for holding the movable aw in contact with the object being grasped, and an unlocking lever movable with said housing.

12. In a wrench, a stationary jaw with handle and toothed cavity, a housing pivotally supported from said stationary jaw, a gear carried by said housing, a spring for depressing the housing, a movable jaw having toothed shank embraced by said housing and engaging said gear and adapted to be rocked to unlock the parts, a spring for holding the movable jaw in contact with the object being grasped, and an unlocking lever movable with said housing, the first-mentioned spring being of greater power than the last-mentioned spring.

VIRGIL J. COUGHENOUR. Witnesses:

C. A. CARL, C. F. MARsH. 

